Factors related to child care increase the risk of pneumonia among children living in a poor community in northeast Brazil.

Abstract

A case-control study in a Brazilian city looked at the increased risk of pneumonia faced by children under age 2 who stayed in day care centers while their mothers were employed. The 650 cases received a radiological diagnosis of pneumonia from the main pediatric hospitals and the 650 controls were of the same age and neighborhood as the cases. It was found that mothers paid employment outside of the house independently increased the occurrence of pneumonia. Risk increased 1.8 times for children whose mothers worked 75% more of the time since the birth than other mothers and attendance at a day care center increased risk more than five times. This may be caused by stress experienced by the child as well as by inappropriate child care practices and increased exposure to pathogens. Since the number of children attending day care centers is increasing it is urgent to devise ways to design and manage day care centers to minimize the risk of pneumonia.